Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Just installed Mint for my elderly in-laws (midwest.social)

submitted 4 weeks ago by falk1856@midwest.social to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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When I was visiting my wife's family for Thanksgiving, my father-in-law told me that his laptop was telling him that if he didn't upgrade to Win11 he be vulnerable to all sorts of malware. They're both retired and on a fixed income so he was panicking over buying a new machine. I put Mint on his existing laptop and walked him through its use. Fingers crossed that he'll be able to handle it. I haven't had any support calls from him yet but I'll find out how it's going when I see him in a few days.

Does anyone have any tips for supporting older family members on Linux if they have absolutely no experience with it?

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[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 weeks ago

I have Mint installed on my Aunt's laptop, which she basically never uses. Fun thing I learned: APT can get constipated if it doesn't run in a few months. It got itself somewhere you couldn't GUI out of so I had to use the terminal. It needed something like an apt clean or an apt --fix-broken or something, the error message it gave me told me what command to run, but that needed to happen.